She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then tried for a calmer tone of voice.
“Look, Drew, I appreciate all you’ve done, truly I do. But you should have asked me if it was what I wanted before going ahead to doing all this.”
“I see.”
Drew studied Janey in silence. To her dismay, she got the impression that he really did see, and it made her uncomfortable. Very few people knew about the wealth of insecurities she had buried deep inside, and she wanted to keep it that way. She didn’t know how possible that would be with him around. Another reason she needed him gone as soon as possible.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she finally said, not meeting his eyes.
Drew took a few steps, closing the distance between them. He placed a hand on her arm.
“Look at me, Janey.” His voice was gentle and had none of the playful teasing she’d come to associate with him. He waited till she lifted her gaze to his. “I’m sorry for jumping the gun that way. I really should have consulted you first. I didn’t mean to offend you. Will you forgive me?”
Janey’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked into his eyes and to her wonder, saw genuine remorse there. She was not used to men who could admit that they were wrong and she had no idea how to respond to Drew. She felt off-balance.
Mistaking her silence for anger, Drew dropped his hand from her arm with a sigh. Janey felt the loss immediately.
“I am not trying to take over your life,” he explained. “I’m just used to going in and doing what needs to be done. If I promise to always check with you before I do anything life-altering to your home, will you forgive me?”
Janey didn’t know how to reply him so she just nodded.
“I got you something,” Drew said, dipping his hand into his pocket. He brought out a black object, like the key fob she used to open her vehicle.
“What is it?”
“It’s an alarm system. I want you to put it on your keyring and carry it with you everywhere you go. If you’re in trouble, just press this button here, it will send a signal to my phone and to Silver Shield HQ.”
Silver Shield was the security firm that Drew worked for. It was founded by Emily Silver, a former military sergeant, and the operators that worked for her were all former military. Drew and Ace, Sierra’s partner, were both Navy SEALs before they retired.
Janey got to know about them some months before, when she’d received a package from her sister. That package had contained incriminating information about the senator Diane had worked for, with strict instructions to get the information to Sierra Newman, a journalist who had been investigating the senator at the time. The only way she’d been able to reach Sierra had been through Silver Shield, which was also how she’d met Drew.
She looked at him now and felt her heart skip a beat. The last thing she needed was to fall for this man. Yet, as much as she’d kicked against what she’d perceived as his high-handedness, she could not deny the fact that he’d dropped everything to come to her aid when he thought she was in trouble.
Did that not count for something?
Maybe in the land of fiction. This was real life and she knew that he probably felt a sense of responsibility for her, though she could not understand why.
She reached out and took the fob from him. It had a little hole through which she could slip in her keyring. She walked into the living room and picked up her keys from the key bowl and slipped the fob in.
When she was done, she dropped the bunch into the bowl.
“Thank you.” She’d heard him come in behind her, but she deliberately did not turn to face him.
“You’re welcome.”
She turned then and found him much closer than she’d expected. Their eyes met and clashed. The heat was undeniable. Janey averted her gaze.
“Good night, Drew. And thanks for dinner.”
Drew reached out and touched her face with the tips of his fingers. The caress was light, but Janey felt it somewhere deep inside her soul.
“Good night, Janey.”
His voice was hoarse, like he had something stuck in his throat.
Janey nodded once and fled.
**
Drew watched her leave, his eyes trained to her backside. It was a very cute backside, surprisingly round and tight. It brought back memories. Memories of that night when he’d held that delectable backside in his hands.
Damn.
Miss Janey Moore was filled with contrasts, and he was intrigued. If anyone had asked him before that night, he would have said that she was incapable of raising her voice. Yet she’d yelled at him, her eyes shooting off sparks.
Her reaction had turned him on and he was grateful for the shirt he wore that hid his erection. He knew his response was inappropriate, and he would never tell her about it, but she was so damn sexy when she was mad.
It was a cliché, but in her case, it was too true. Seeing her finally drop that tight control she held on to like a safety blanket had been riveting. He would go as far as saying it was fulfilling. Which was odd, but there you had it.
He would have to get her mad more often. He had watched her when they were being chased, just after he’d picked her from the airport in Chicago. She’d had to handle a firearm at short notice and even though he had seen her hands tremble, she’d been cool under pressure.
She was too repressed by half. Always so contained, never showing much emotion.
Except for that night at the safe house.
Nothing had been repressed about her on that night. His mind went back to the combustible passion they’d shared. He was back at the safe house, holding her with her back against the wall and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her head was thrown back in ecstasy as he slid into her tight, wet…
Shit!
He had tried everything he knew, but he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that night. He’d relieved it so many times, both when he was awake and in his sleep. He had become obsessed and had all but decided to seek her out when Sierra had come to his aid, giving him the perfect excuse to lodge himself in her house.
He had no idea where it would lead, but Drew knew that it was leading somewhere. Janey Moore had touched something within him. She had lit a raging fire in a place he’d thought was long dead. He’d wanted to know if it was a freak accident, a one-off event triggered by adrenaline. But one look at her and it had all come back.
He didn’t know what he felt for this woman, but whatever it was, it was the real deal and he intended to explore it fully. She could run as much as she wanted and as far as she could, but he would always be one step behind her. She was going to get tired of running someday, and he planned on being there.
Just then his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID; it was Emily, his boss and also his closest friend, after Ace Moreno.
“Hey Emily.”
“Drew, how’s it going?”
“Not bad.”
“What’s your assessment of the situation?” she asked, going straight to the point, which was something he really liked about Emily; no messing around.
“Someone’s out to scare her, no doubt. I don’t think it’s life threatening, but you know how these things can quickly go south.”
“Yeah.” She sounded thoughtful. “We analyzed the email you sent. According to Rusty, the IP address was from somewhere in Broken Arrow.”
Rusty Rosabelle was their intelligence man. He was also former military and had worked in the military intelligence arm. He was a whiz with the computer and there was hardly any system he could not hack into. His skills had saved their butts on several occasions.
Drew nodded. “So whoever it is probably knows her and she probably knows them.”
“Most likely.”
“Hmm.”
“Yeah. Keep a close watch on her. I have a bad feeling about this one.”
Drew felt the same way as well. It looked like a simple case, maybe someone she’d offended was trying to scare her a little, but there was s
omething about the messages that creeped him out. They were personal and seemed to come from a disturbed mind. He had seen the photos of the dead mouse that was left on Janey’s doorstep. The head had been twisted off in such a gory manner. Whoever had done it clearly didn’t have it all together upstairs.
They talked shop for some moments. Drew got the sense that something was bothering Emily, but when he asked her about it, she shrugged it off. He could guess though. There was only one thing that could get Emily distracted and that was news about her daughter.
Emily’s daughter was kidnapped several years ago, when Emily had been fighting somewhere in the Middle East. The event had altered the course of her life. She’d suffered a nervous breakdown and eventually retired from the army. The event had also destroyed her marriage as Emily’s sole focus had been to find her daughter. He suspected that the real reason behind Silver Shield had something to do with the missing child.
Even though it had happened about four years back and the trail had gone cold, Emily refused to give up hope. Every once in a while, they would get a lead and she would go chasing that lead. It always invariably led to a dead end.
He wished that there was a way he could ease her pain. But the only one who could have done that for her was her ex-husband, and they were like oil and water these days.
Before turning in, he decided to take a walk around the house, not just to ensure that everything was safe but also to give himself some time to cool down. He had spent the last three months in a state of partial arousal and he was sharing a roof with the cause. He had even tried other women, but their smell and feel had been so wrong and he’d ended up backing off at the last minute.
Being celibate was hell. But he did not intend to remain celibate much longer.
Chapter Six
Maria Vitale looked through the window in the kitchen. She could see her husband sitting outside on the deck. The temperature had dropped, but he didn’t seem to be aware of the cold. He did not seem aware of much these days. Not since he lost his brother several months ago. Her once jovial, slightly mischievous husband was now filled with hate and rage. A rage he sometimes took out on her. She had no idea what to do or how to reach him.
Still, she loved him and she wanted badly to help, if he would let her.
She pushed open the door to the deck and walked to his side. She squatted down so that they were almost on the same level.
“Mikey,” she called softly.
He did not look at her, but she felt him tense.
“It’s getting cold out here, won’t you come inside?”
“I need to find her,” he murmured absently, almost to himself. “I can’t rest until I do.”
Maria sighed and stood up. It was always like that. He was consumed with this need to find her, whoever she was. The mysterious and elusive woman who had pulled the trigger, ending his brother’s life. Standing over his brother’s grave that cold morning, he had sworn to avenge his death. That need for vengeance consumed his every waking moment.
“I’m this close…” he looked up at her then, his eyes burning. “I’m missing something vital, but it will come to me soon and when it does, I can finally get her.”
Maria felt tears prick the back of her eyes. Her heart was heavy as she walked back into the house. She’d known when she married him that he was part of the Chicago mafia family. Her own brother had been the head before he was arrested again. Being a mafia wife, she’d thought that she was prepared for everything. She’d braced herself to become a widow, even though she attended mass faithfully and lit several candles to petition the Holy Mother for her husband’s life. But nothing had prepared her for this. She still had her husband, but he was no longer the man she’d fallen in love with.
That man had died with his brother months ago.
Mike Vitale knew that he would find the woman. He had seen her that night, when she’d pulled the trigger that had ended his brother’s life.
Thinking of Tommy, lying six feet under, was too painful to contemplate. They’d both lost their parents early; Thomas had only been five years old. Mike had done everything he could to make sure that they stayed together. He would have protected his brother with his life.
But he had failed. The agony in his heart was not something he could put words to; the pain was too visceral. It was a pain that could only be assuaged when he finally meted out justice. He would find the killer and he would deliver his own brand of justice.
**
“Look, this is ridiculous. You can’t be following me everywhere I go?”
“That’s what a bodyguard does.”
“Well, I did not ask for a bodyguard. I don’t need one.”
They stared at each other in silence.
“What do you need then?” Drew asked finally.
What did she need? Oh boy, she was not going to touch that one with a ten-foot pole.
Janey was frustrated. Three days in the same house with Drew would do that to anyone. The man was still making decisions without consulting her, but what was really driving her crazy was the primeval reaction she had to him.
Just the day before, she had come out of her room to get a bottle of water and had met him doing pushups in the living room. Since he was wearing a sleeveless tank top, she’d had a front row seat to the enticing play of his muscles as he pushed himself. It should not have been an erotic experience for her, but it was. She’d retreated to her room in a state of arousal. She’d tried to get away from him for a while, so she could regain some control over her hormones, but he was not giving her breathing space.
They were standing outside her cottage now.
Janey sighed. “Drew, if there’s anything I need right now, it’s a friend.”
He gazed at her, his face inscrutable. “A friend.”
She knew it sounded odd, but she really could do with a friend; someone to talk to and just be herself with. She had no idea if she and Drew could be friends, but she really wanted to try.
“Yes. If you offered me protection as a friend, I wouldn’t mind so much because I know it’s what I’d do for you. But I honestly can’t afford your services as a bodyguard.”
He tipped his head to the side as he considered her words. “The only female friend I’ve ever had is Emily. I don’t know if this will work…”
Janey felt disappointment crawl up her spine. It had been too much to hope for, that he would suddenly want to be her friend. Guys like him did not make friends with women like her. He’d said it. Emily was a badass like he was, nothing at all like Janey.
“It’s okay, Drew.” She turned away but Drew caught her hand. The place where he touched her burned.
“Wait, Janey…” She turned back to look at him. “I’m not saying that we can’t be friends. I’m willing to give it a try, if you are.” He ran his thumb over the skin on her wrist, in a gentle caress.
Janey’s heart skipped a beat and she felt the heat from his touch rush over her body.
She smiled, unable to hold back her joy. “Okay.”
Drew’s lips tipped up in a smile. “So can we leave now?”
“Sure.”
“Tell me about your family,” he said once they were on their way.
Janey smiled. It was Sunday, and she had to put in an appearance for the weekly dinner. It was one of her mom’s rules. If you were in town, you showed up for Sunday dinner.
“Well, there’s Bob and Daphne Moore, those are my parents by the way. Then I have three brothers and they’re all married. Connor and Teresa have two teenage kids, Liam and Melissa have three boys, they are a handful, but absolutely delightful. Then there’s Mason and his wife, Bianca.”
“Uh-oh…”
Janey glanced at him. “What?”
“I sense some angst with the Bianca woman. You two don’t get along?”
She shrugged, what could she say? “Bianca is…Well, you have to experience her to understand,” she said at last.
“She’s that sort, eh?”
“Yeah.”
“Where does your sister fit in?”
Janey felt a pang at the mention of her sister, “Diane was…” she broke off and swallowed the lump that was suddenly stuck in her throat. “Diane is between Liam and Mason.” She refused to think of her sister in the past tense. Although it was becoming increasingly harder, she had to believe that she would find Diane.
She felt a warm hand wrap around hers. She looked down and saw her small hands in Drew’s larger hands. She glanced up at him, but he was focused on the road.
“Have faith, Janey. We’ll find her.”
Her heart squeezed at his words. Impulsively, she brought his hand to her lips and dropped a kiss.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
As they got closer to the farm where her parents lived, Janey became more tense. Drew watched her from the corner of his eye and she looked like she was about to go for a tooth extraction.
“If you hate it so much, why do you go?”
She turned a surprised gaze at him. “I don’t hate it.”
“You look like you’d rather be anywhere else,” he pointed out.
She sighed. “My mother and I don’t really get along. She’s sweet, but she’s been after me to get married for ages and this thing with Mark has just made the situation worse.”
“But he called off the engagement, right?”
“Tell that to my mom. She believes I’m somehow at fault. And my brothers are not too happy with me at the moment as well.”
“Looks like it’s going to be an uncomfortable time for you. I could turn the car around if you just say the word,” he offered.
“What? You can’t just run away from or avoid people simply because things are a bit uncomfortable.”
“Why not?” He faced too many uncomfortable situations in his line of work that he didn’t feel the need to tolerate those in his personal life.
“They’re family, Drew. Things will always be uncomfortable. We accept the bad along with the good.”
Silver Shield Security Box Set Page 29
